Yes
by madeleine68
Summary: Alex is out of WPP and rushes home to Olivia. Some more A/O fluff. Oneshot. Please review!


**Disclaimer: Guess what, people? Everything belongs to Dick Wolf. Not me. *cries***

Alex took a deep breath as she climbed off the plane in New York. It had been nineteen long months since she'd been here, nineteen long, painful months in which she dreamed only of the city and the woman who were synonymous with "home."

She hadn't brought anything with; she wanted to leave her old life behind for good. She didn't want to be Emily anymore. She didn't want to be Sharon anymore. She didn't want to be Diane anymore. She wanted to be _Alex_. She wanted to be Olivia's girlfriend. She wanted to be SVU's ADA. She wanted to be a New Yorker. She even wanted to, occasionally, be a mouthy lawyer who got locked up for contempt of court.

She strode out of JFK with her head held high, her confident façade up once again. She was not going to break down in the middle of the street. She would wait, at least, until she was in Olivia's arms. There, she could cry if she wanted to, and Olivia would hold her and soothe her and encourage her to let out what ever pain she was feeling.

She raised her hand to hail a cab. One stopped for her immediately – she'd forgotten how this went.

She gave the driver the address for the sixteenth precinct, clasping her hands in her lap and crossing one leg over the other as she settled in for the ride. She opened the window and inhaled the pungent fumes that screamed New York, and smiled in rapture. God, she'd missed this.

Finally, they arrived at the precinct. Alex tossed the taxi driver a fifty, too excited to wait for her change, and she had to make a conscious effort not to run into the precinct, where she knew Olivia awaited her.

She couldn't stop grinning as she strode into the precinct and toward the squad room, where Olivia and Elliot were sitting at their desks doing paperwork. When Olivia saw Alex, her mouth literally dropped open, and the pen she'd been writing with fell to the ground. "Alex," she breathed, the colour draining from her face. That was all she could say – "Alex" – but Alex thought her name had never sounded so good.

She gave Olivia a smile, wanting to run to her girlfriend, but knowing she couldn't, not with Elliot there. "I'm back," she said quietly, and with those two words, Olivia broke.

She dissolved. That was really the only word for it. Her knees buckled, but Alex was there to catch her, as she'd vowed she always would be. She held Olivia close and stroked her hair. "Sweetie, it's okay. It's okay, Liv. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

"I missed you," whimpered Olivia.

"I know, honey. I missed you, too." She buried her head in Olivia's hair, inhaling the subtle scent of her shampoo – vanilla still. "I love you," she said; the words as precious as they had been the first time they were uttered.

"Oh, baby. I love you, too." Olivia began to cry again. "I thought you'd never come home! But now – you're here, with me. Oh, Alex!"

"Liv, I'm here. I'm here to stay. Don't worry, okay? I'm never going to leave you again."

Olivia nodded and clung to Alex. "I know."

Not caring about Elliot, who was attempting to busy himself with his paperwork, Alex kissed the crown of Olivia's head. "I have something for you," she said quietly, holding Olivia at arms length and brushing away her tears.

Olivia managed to smile through the moisture welling up in her eyes. "Oh, Alex," was all she could say, again.

Alex tucked a strand of hair behind Olivia's ear, fighting her own tears. She was going to be strong now, in front of Elliot, in front of Olivia, _for _Olivia. "Sweetie, don't cry," she said gently, taking Olivia's hands in her own. "Please don't cry." She knew it was selfish of her, but she hated to see Olivia upset.

Olivia took a deep breath. "Right. I'm sorry, baby."

Alex wrapped her arms around Olivia again. "It feels so good to be here, with you."

Elliot cleared his throat. "I'm going to see if Munch and Fin need anything," he said discreetly, but neither woman paid any attention to him, as caught up as they were with each other.

Olivia traced Alex's jaw, then cupped her cheek. "I can't believe you're really back."

Alex smiled through the tears she was trying to keep at bay. "I can't believe I'm really back either." She drew back from Olivia, still holding her arms but stepping further back, meeting Olivia's eyes as she said her next words. "Life is short, Liv, and while I was in Witness Protection, I was doing a lot of thinking. The one thing that I know for certain is that you are my love, and you are my life. I will never, ever lose you again. Wherever you go, I will follow, and I won't go anywhere unless I'm sure you're right behind me." She took a deep breath. "For nineteen months, I've waited for this, and I know it may not be the best time, but I couldn't wait any longer."

She bit her lip, trying not to act as uncertain as she felt, and rummaged around in her purse for the small velvet box she'd bought the day she ended up in Appleton, Wisconsin, the box she'd gazed at for hours whenever she had a nightmare, whenever she couldn't sleep, whenever she just felt like falling into a black hole. It was the box that anchored her to Olivia. Slowly, deliberately, she got down on one knee and smiled up at Olivia. "Olivia Benson," she said quietly, measuring each word, taking Olivia's hands in her own once again. "Will you make me the happiest woman in the world and marry me?"

Olivia stared at her for a moment, her eyes widening, uncomprehending. For an awful moment, Alex thought she might say no. But then Olivia burst into a fresh round of sobbing and threw her arms around Alex, repeating the word over and over until it became a litany; music to Alex's ears: "Yes."

**Review if you enjoyed this oneshot!**


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